Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 16 (BG 13.16) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

# BG 13.16 — The Omnipresence of the Supreme Self The omnipresence of the Supreme Self is here indicated in the incomparable style of the Upanishads. That Supreme Self pervades all beings both within and without — the conscious principle expressed through all individual conditions is all-pervading. By "within and without" is meant that where bodies and other limiting conditions exist, the Supreme Self is distinctly manifest and present; yet even where no such condition exists, it remains established in its pure being alone. Just as radio waves exist clearly where a radio receiver is present, yet their absence cannot be affirmed where no receiver exists — so too does the Supreme Self pervade all space. The Supreme Self is both the moving and the unmoved. That which moves about by its own will is a moving being, while that which is motionless belongs to the stationary category. Yet this statement also means that the Self, though unmoved in its essential nature, appears to move. This is because the Self, being all-pervading, is unchanging in its own form; yet when associated with moving conditions, it appears to move — like a person sitting still in a moving vehicle who traverses miles of distance without leaving his seat. Thus the essential substance of our being is one, eternal, and complete, pervading everywhere within and without. Without it, no action is possible; therefore it exists in all actions. It is established everywhere in its true nature. Why then cannot we perceive it through the senses, or experience it through mind and intellect? The Lord declares: because it is supremely subtle and therefore unknowable to ordinary perception. Objects with qualities are gross. The more qualities an object possesses, the grosser it becomes and the more it can be grasped by multiple senses. Earth, for instance, is known through all five senses, while air is known only through hearing and touch. Thus earth is the grossest element, and space, possessing only the quality of sound, is the subtlest. The cause is always subtler than the effect. Space, being a created thing, must have a cause. That eternal substratum, Brahman, is the cause of space itself and of the five great elements. Naturally, Brahman, being subtler even than space, cannot be known as an object through our available means of knowledge — it is unknowable. The Supreme Self is both distant and near. A finite, limited object can be said to exist in a particular place — here or there — and its distance from the observer can be measured and it can be called distant or near. But that which is all-pervading exists here and there simultaneously, and is therefore both distant and near. These terms can also be understood thus: the Supreme Self is distant, being free from all names and forms and their limiting conditions; yet that same Supreme Self is near, dwelling within all names and forms. Sri Shankara writes in his commentary that this Self appears extremely distant to the ignorant, while the wise experience it as supremely near, as their own innermost Self. In essence, this verse, adorned with the beauty of paradoxical language, awakens those readers who are satisfied with intellectual knowledge alone. It inspires them to directly experience through reflection and meditation the all-pervading and transcendent nature of the Supreme Self. Regarding this very subject, the Lord continues to speak.